Hanging Spaces: A Vision for Vertical Urban Living

Hanging Spaces is a groundbreaking response to the challenges of space limitation in dense urban centers. Conceived by Isabella Nieling as an Honorable Mention entry of Nano Nest 2020, the project reimagines how architecture can respond to community, affordability, and quality of life through an innovative vertical housing design.

Rethinking Vertical Housing

Set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, Hanging Spaces is anchored in a context where real estate is costly and available plots are increasingly scarce. The project addresses the needs of multi-family living within a narrow urban footprint. It achieves this through the vertical stacking of self-contained residential pods that appear to "float" within a shared open volume.

This vertical housing design reduces rigid zoning of functions and replaces it with flexible, air-permeable, and visually connected communal areas. The unique composition fosters spontaneous interaction while maintaining private zones for retreat and rest.

Floating Units, Layered Living

The architecture features three suspended residential units, each equal in height and characterized by an organic design language. These are vertically arranged and supported by a structure of prefabricated concrete elements and steel pipes. Large cutouts in the facade allow for daylight penetration and natural ventilation, while visually integrating interior and exterior environments.

Each unit serves a different lifestyle need but remains unified by its access to light-filled shared spaces such as stairways, mezzanines, terraces, and lounges.

Tailored for Real Urban Users

The user profile is a mixed household: two parents with young children and an early retired couple subletting a part of the unit. This blend balances caregiving and affordability in a context like NYC where childcare is both expensive and limited. The shared architecture supports this dynamic by creating common zones for collective use and retreat zones for privacy.

The open planning also reflects modern living styles where work-life boundaries are fluid, and users value interaction, transparency, and flexibility.

Architecture of Interaction and Light

Hanging Spaces excels in its spatial strategy:

• Light architecture: The generously opened facade, skylights, and gaps between units bring sunlight and airflow deep into the building.
• Negotiable interaction: The residents choose how much to engage with others or enjoy solitude. The layout promotes this by layering shared and private spaces with visual and spatial fluidity.

This redefinition of living supports three spatial modalities:

1. With each other: Shared lounges and mezzanine zones
2. Private: Enclosed bedroom pods
3. Negotiable interaction: Open corridors and stairs

Cost-Efficient and Scalable

To ensure feasibility, the design uses prefabricated modular elements. These parts, including facade shells, stairs, and platform supports, are cast offsite and assembled onsite to reduce cost and construction time. This modular approach makes the design scalable, enabling adaptation across urban sites with similar constraints.

The possibility of mass-producing Hanging Spaces unlocks a replicable model for cities facing rising population density and real estate scarcity.

Community-Building in Compact Living

Two key features reinforce community life:

• Interactive entrance zones with facing seating benches, extending the social realm to the public sidewalk
• Mezzanine sofa platforms that act as gathering points with views throughout the interior

These elements foster daily encounters and a sense of belonging while embracing the city as part of the living space.

Hanging Spaces is more than a housing proposal—it is a prototype for vertical housing design that balances human need, urban context, and architectural innovation. Through its modularity, openness, and social sensitivity, the project offers a transformative way of living in space-crunched cities.

By blending the boundaries of inside and outside, private and shared, fixed and floating, this project reimagines how future urban homes can be built—lightly, flexibly, and together.

Project by: Isabella Nieling

Recognition: Honorable Mention – Nano Nest 2020